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Thursday, October 22, 2009
Monday, September 07, 2009
Labor Day
A three day weekend after only three days of classes...I could get used to this.
Classes started last Wednesday. I've had most by now and so far they seem to be pretty good. The science classes will pose a challenge but I like my schedule for the most part. It's nice to be settling down with just science and music, none of those pesky humanities courses (not that there's anything wrong with those...). I'm at the point were I'm somewhat enjoying reading the text. Let's hope that stays that way for a while. Here's the 20 units:
This whole thing with people freaking out about Obama's proposed "Back to School" speech is teetering on the line of absurdity. A number of school districts are continuing to refuse to show the speech even after the text has been released and it contains absolutely no reference to any political agenda. Many seem to be ignoring the fact that almost every former president in recent history has given a similar address. I think NBC's John Harwood puts it pretty well.
Brownie, a 4-year-old cat who has drifted away from his home, returned to the delight but then horror of his owners. Glad to have him back, they were in turn horrified that he had a 13-inch arrow stuck through his head. Luckily the arrow had only skimmed the skull and the little guy is expected to make a full recovery. 1 down, 8 to go.
Youtube of the week: A random guy is seen reading a novel while doing 75mph on the freeway. That better be a good book.
That's it for now...have a nice day off.
Classes started last Wednesday. I've had most by now and so far they seem to be pretty good. The science classes will pose a challenge but I like my schedule for the most part. It's nice to be settling down with just science and music, none of those pesky humanities courses (not that there's anything wrong with those...). I'm at the point were I'm somewhat enjoying reading the text. Let's hope that stays that way for a while. Here's the 20 units:- Biology: Genes and Development
- Bio Lab
- General Chemistry
- Chem Lab
- Music Theory
- Musicianship Skills
- Keyboard Harmony
- Fundamentals of Conducting
- Lessons
- Wind Ensemble
- Orchestra
This whole thing with people freaking out about Obama's proposed "Back to School" speech is teetering on the line of absurdity. A number of school districts are continuing to refuse to show the speech even after the text has been released and it contains absolutely no reference to any political agenda. Many seem to be ignoring the fact that almost every former president in recent history has given a similar address. I think NBC's John Harwood puts it pretty well.Brownie, a 4-year-old cat who has drifted away from his home, returned to the delight but then horror of his owners. Glad to have him back, they were in turn horrified that he had a 13-inch arrow stuck through his head. Luckily the arrow had only skimmed the skull and the little guy is expected to make a full recovery. 1 down, 8 to go.Youtube of the week: A random guy is seen reading a novel while doing 75mph on the freeway. That better be a good book.That's it for now...have a nice day off.
Friday, September 04, 2009
That Crazy Thousand Oaks...
Man's Fingertip Bitten Off at Healthcare Rally
By Garance Franke Ruta and Sarah Lovenheim of the Washington Post
By Garance Franke Ruta and Sarah Lovenheim of the Washington Post
One of a national series of rallies for health-care reform took a violent turn Wednesday night when, according to authorities in Thousand Oaks, Calif., an unidentified man bit off another man's pinky finger at the top joint.
The Thousand Oaks event attracted only about 100 people -- a small group compared to the turnout at congressional town halls, which have drawn up to 1,500 people. But their passions were running high, and when a supporter of health-care reform wound up among a group of about 25 counter-protesters, an argument and fistfight broke out, Ventura County Sheriff's Capt. Frank O'Hanlon told the Associated Press.
Reports differ on whether the supporter went to confront the opponents intentionally or was just walking among them while trying to cross the street to the pro-reform rally.
Southern California's KTLA-TV, which first reported on the fracas, wrote, "The 65-year-old was apparently aggressive and hit the other man, who then retaliated by biting off his attacker's pinky."
The AP reported that the injured man "retrieved the finger and went to a hospital." The man, identified by ABC News as William Rice, received care from Los Robles Hospital and on Thursday told the Weekly Standard that the hospital was unable to reattach his fingertip. Also on Thursday, Rice appeared on Fox News, where he was interviewed by Neil Cavuto (see video clip, below).
O'Hanlon told the AP that authorities have a good description of the alleged biter, who fled the scene. "It's considered a mayhem which is the removal of an appendage from a human," Capt. Bruce Norris of the Ventura County Sheriff's Department told ABC News. "The crime is punishable by imprisonment for 2, 4, or 8 years."
Attendees at the Thousand Oaks rally took to their blogs Thursday to describe the clash. Reform opponent Eric Ingemunson recounts his story on RedCounty.com, and reform supporter Karoli Kuns tells her tale at DrumsnWhistles.com.
MoveOn.org sponsored the rally, along with others Wednesday night around the country, and Ilyse Hogue, a spokeswoman for the liberal advocacy group, called the incident "a regrettable act of violence."
"While we do not have any more facts about what happened then what we saw in press accounts, MoveOn condemns violence in all forms," she said in a statement to The Post.
"While we don't know if either party involved was a MoveOn member, we regret any violence that may have occurred yesterday, and we support the Ventura County Sheriff's investigation into the situation. It is our firm hope that this event does not detract from the tens of thousands who were out peacefully making their voices heard for health-care reform and a public option," Hogue said.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
RA Training
We're midway through August which means Summer is coming to a close. This time always has that weird combination feel of disappointment that the break is over yet excitement for the new school year.
Our trip to Colorado and New Mexico was great. We had a few days of hiking and relaxation at the cabin before making the trek to Santa Fe. We had a nice little condo within walking distance of downtown. Santa Fe is a pretty interesting place. It's very artsy and a lot of fun to visit but I don't think I could stand living there--a tad too artsy for me. The big reason for going was the Santa Fe Opera; my dad and I saw three operas in three days while my grandma joined us for two of them and my mom went to one. We saw Gluck's Alceste (good opera but a bit "drab"), Donizetti's Elixir of Love and the world premiere of Moravec's The Letter (probably my favorite). After opera madness we ventured to Boulder City to visit my uncle and hit a production of the musical Jersey Boys in Vegas before coming home. Overall it was a really fun time.
I've been back at Cal Lu for a little over a week now in RA training. The training is going well and I've met a lot of good people. The job will be interesting; there's a bit of responsibility but I'm looking forward to it. It's a new experience and I think I've already gotten a lot out of it. Hopefully I'll maintain the positive outlook well into the year. My room setup this year is very nice. It's pretty spacious and actually has a view. Should be a fun time. Classes start up September 2.
It seems impossible to go a few hours without hearing somebody's (misinformed) opinion about the whole healthcare debate these days. With all this going on it's nice to see that there is at least one person out there that has it right.
I know there's a few slip-n-slide fans out there so this video is a must watch. The legitimacy has been debated quite a bit but whether an actual jump or edit job it's a pretty cool feat either way.
The odds of catching a foul ball in a major league game are 1 in 333. The odds of catching two major league foul balls in the same game are 1 in 3,333,333. This 12 year old kid beat the odds. Pretty awesome.
That's it for now, I think I'll take advantage of my afternoon off and treat myself to a quick nap.
Our trip to Colorado and New Mexico was great. We had a few days of hiking and relaxation at the cabin before making the trek to Santa Fe. We had a nice little condo within walking distance of downtown. Santa Fe is a pretty interesting place. It's very artsy and a lot of fun to visit but I don't think I could stand living there--a tad too artsy for me. The big reason for going was the Santa Fe Opera; my dad and I saw three operas in three days while my grandma joined us for two of them and my mom went to one. We saw Gluck's Alceste (good opera but a bit "drab"), Donizetti's Elixir of Love and the world premiere of Moravec's The Letter (probably my favorite). After opera madness we ventured to Boulder City to visit my uncle and hit a production of the musical Jersey Boys in Vegas before coming home. Overall it was a really fun time.I've been back at Cal Lu for a little over a week now in RA training. The training is going well and I've met a lot of good people. The job will be interesting; there's a bit of responsibility but I'm looking forward to it. It's a new experience and I think I've already gotten a lot out of it. Hopefully I'll maintain the positive outlook well into the year. My room setup this year is very nice. It's pretty spacious and actually has a view. Should be a fun time. Classes start up September 2.It seems impossible to go a few hours without hearing somebody's (misinformed) opinion about the whole healthcare debate these days. With all this going on it's nice to see that there is at least one person out there that has it right.I know there's a few slip-n-slide fans out there so this video is a must watch. The legitimacy has been debated quite a bit but whether an actual jump or edit job it's a pretty cool feat either way.
The odds of catching a foul ball in a major league game are 1 in 333. The odds of catching two major league foul balls in the same game are 1 in 3,333,333. This 12 year old kid beat the odds. Pretty awesome.That's it for now, I think I'll take advantage of my afternoon off and treat myself to a quick nap.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
NIB
I recently returned from Phoenix and the National Intercollegiate Band. I'm glad to say I didn't die from the heat (worst was about 115°) and we got some monsoonal weather. The whole experience went really well. The director, John R. Bourgeois, is the director emeritus of "The President's Own" Marine Band
. He was a really down to earth and great guy who had some amazing stories from his 40 years of service. The composer was Mark Camphouse and his piece was pretty heavy (in a good way). It was really neat meeting some new people from around the country and running into some old All Southern/State folks. It was a great experience and really fun time. I'll post some audio when I get it.
The day after I returned, Casey, Andrew, Josh, Julia, Julia, and I made a last minute journey down to the Hollywood Bowl to see Philip Glass and his ensemble play with the LA Phil. Many people aren't fans of minimalism so it was really neat to see the Bowl packed with people who really appreciate it. The music was incredible (Einstein on the Beach!) and the musicality amazing, as expected.
After enjoying a few days of laziness I'm off to Colorado and New Mexico later this week. We'll be spending a few days up at the cabin then make our way to Santa Fe for the Santa Fe Opera. Should be a good time. When we return I have a few days before heading back to Cal Lu for RA training.
I know many of my peers are having difficulty in the summer months with waking up early. ThinkGeek has a solution: for every minute you sleep past the alarm on this clock, your bank account automatically donate money to an organization you hate. Genius.
Many of you may have seen youtube's top hit for this week, the awesome wedding entrance dance. For those who haven't, you must check it out. Cool little tidbit: apparently Karl's sister, Erin, was actually at the wedding. Pretty funny stuff.That's all for now, I need to go post an ad to sell my Public Speaking and Spanish books. If anybody is interested, let me know.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Off to Phoenix
It's only 112° right now...
For the next few days I'll be participating in the National Intercollegiate Band at the Arizona Biltmore. I auditioned on a whim a few months ago and was pretty surprised when I actually made it. It looks to be a really good experience (complete with the director of the President's Own and Mark Camphouse) and I'm looking forward to it. Hopefully I'll get some pics and audio to share.
The past few weeks of summer have been pretty busy. To quickly sum, I've:
I'm probably forgetting a few things, but you can tell it's been an action packed summer so far. I wish I had time to go more in depth on some things but maybe when I have some free time in the next couple of weeks I'll be inspired to share my wacky attempts at political involvement or innermost philosophical feelings on witnessing the miracle of life. Or something like that.
I should probably start packing so that's about all for now. I leave you with Obama and the "Mom Jeans" controversy.
For the next few days I'll be participating in the National Intercollegiate Band at the Arizona Biltmore. I auditioned on a whim a few months ago and was pretty surprised when I actually made it. It looks to be a really good experience (complete with the director of the President's Own and Mark Camphouse) and I'm looking forward to it. Hopefully I'll get some pics and audio to share.The past few weeks of summer have been pretty busy. To quickly sum, I've:
- Made the annual Kling/Crane Dodger game excursion
- Made the annual Stutelberg/Crane Dodger excursion
- Witnessed 5 births including a C-section with twins (absolutely incredible!)
- Moved my sister from Canyon Country to Acton with the help of Casey and Josh
- Persuaded four other people to donate blood with me (you should too)
- Completed a 5 week summer school term of Public Speaking and Spanish 102 (thankfully it's over)
- Written letters and had petitions signed to the Governor and Mayor.
- Seen the Monty Python musical Spamalot (very funny...definitely recommend)
- Discovered an unknown function of the MacBook.
- Hosted a surprise birthday party for Andrew LORDKEMPER.
I'm probably forgetting a few things, but you can tell it's been an action packed summer so far. I wish I had time to go more in depth on some things but maybe when I have some free time in the next couple of weeks I'll be inspired to share my wacky attempts at political involvement or innermost philosophical feelings on witnessing the miracle of life. Or something like that.I should probably start packing so that's about all for now. I leave you with Obama and the "Mom Jeans" controversy.
Monday, July 06, 2009
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